Recent rains bring some needed cheer

Good rainfall over Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh over the past few days, has brought down the overall southwest monsoon deficiency to almost 17 per cent of the Long Period Average.

The heavy showers have shaved off much of the deficiency in Uttarakhand, east UP, HP and Jharkhand. The rains in the Himalayan regions in recent days would also help fill the reservoirs of Punjab and Haryana, which get their water from rivers originating in the hills.

However, most experts are unsure if or for how long this trend of good rain would remain. L S Rathore, head of the India Meteorological Department, told Business Standard the rains would be normal in August but the intensity would go down in September. The IMD declares a drought when total rainfall during the four-month season is 10 per cent less than the normal. It had indicated drought-like conditions were developing in a third of the country.

The Empowered Group of Ministers on drought is expected to meet again this week, less than a fortnight after its earlier convening. This comes after two of its members, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar (who heads it) and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, toured drought-affected areas of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.

“It is very clear that this is a very very serious drought. The drought in Maharashtra is the worst in 20 years, Gujarat’s the worst in 25 years and Karnataka’s the worst in the last 40 years," Ramesh had told reporters after reviewing the situation in the three states. Pawar and he are expected to also tour affected areas of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan shortly.